CNN: LAPTOPS BRING LESSONS, MAYBE EVEN PEACE

Children around the world have benefited from the generosity of the One Laptop per Child nonprofit operating out of Cambridge, MA.  The computers, now $180 each, provide children who do not even have access to regular electricity the opportunity to think critically and explore their potentials.  Targeting current and historic conflict zones, including Iraq, Rwanda and most recently the Gaza Strip, not only fulfills the group’s mission to offer equal-access education to the most isolated children, it may also promote world peace. 

By putting laptops “into the hands of kids who would otherwise be indoctrinated,” Matt Keller of One Laptop per Child explained, “we can make the case pretty successfully that doing this is a long-term solution to root causes.”

Despite its ongoing successes, the downturn in the economy has taken a toll on the nonprofit. The last Give One Get One promotion brought in $2.5 million, while the first incarnation brought in $37.5 million. And corporate sponsors fell from 11 to three in the span of 30 days, he added. Early this year, the organization laid off half of its staff, bringing the total on payroll to just 32.

Question to the Blogosphere:  What can be done to save organizations like One Laptop per Child during the current financial crisis?  Does knowledge necessarily mean that it is more likely for a region to be peaceful?  What things do these computers let children do that they could not have done otherwise?  Can these computers bring people together to learn about their common ground?  Do the computers themselves create common ground through common knowledge of computers among the younger generations of the world?